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If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If David Cameron expected voters to respect him for firming up his commitment to a referendum on the European Union, YouGov’s latest polling for The Times will disappoint him. Most Britons, including a majority of those who voted Conservative in 2010, think he is acting out of tactical calculation rather than because he feels deeply about the issue.
Today the illegal wildlife trade is worth in excess of $10 billion annually and the surging demand for ivory from the rapidly growing economies of China, Vietnam and Thailand resulted in over 40,000 elephants being killed in Africa in 2012, or one every 15 minutes.
If only the Prime Minister had, say, a straight-talking Northerner he could turn to, to lift the party's appeal outside of the South East. Maybe someone who was uninterested in PR spin but was a take-me-as-I-am kind of bloke, educated perhaps at the local comp, maybe even went to polytechnic, the sort of background that would help to balance the coiffeured posh brigade.
My argument was that all of the likely election outcomes in 2015, the least likely was an overall Tory victory that would enable him to remain in Downing Street. Now, though, I'm beginning to think his downfall could come even sooner.
On close inspection, Ukip's policies are startlingly similar to the Tea Party's. They want to cut taxes by £90bn, but mostly for the rich, introducing a single flat tax of 31%, that will see millionaires pay the same tax rates as their cleaners.
With a rising number of Conservatives calling for a referendum before 2017 and the unlikely chances of this happening given that their coalition partners do not agree, the Europe question is going to be argued and debated for some time to come.
I never thought I'd say this, but I think the rise of Ukip is overall a very positive development in British politics. Why? Because the British people see in Mr Farage a person who understands them. In Ukip they see a movement that stands apart from the fossils in Westminster. And for the first time since 1997 when Blair swept into power, there is a sense that things could be different...The problem is that the political parties that dominate British politics all end up saying roughly the same thing. There might be rhetorical differences, but ultimately they are singing from the same hymn sheet.
There's something peculiar about the UK's relationship with Europe. It's like an arranged marriage - seems a good idea on paper (interests aligned, status consolidated, families united). But then you get to know them. And sometimes love doesn't grow like they all said it would.
In a speech earlier this week, Labour policy review boss Jon Cruddas said that his party is set to consider backing a Swedish-style ban on adverts that target children in the run up to 2015. Very noble, but he might be wise to reconsider; after all, haven't we already decided that such a ban is utterly pointless?
So what happened to us as we evolved from shaggy haired Cold War rioters to studious devotees to our laptops? We know more, we appear to be more independent politically as seen in the diverse reaction to Thatcher's death, surely we should be more politically active?
"What would you do," asks Bill Murray's character in Groundhog Day, "if you were stuck in one place and every day was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered?" That is just one of many questions that must be running through David Cameron's head right about now.
When people with any level of responsibility are accused of a serious crime or activities that offend common decency, the normal procedure in the UK is for them to be suspended from their job pending an investigation.
It may provide ready-made commentary when looking at the Prime Minister's inner circle, but it's an all too easy excuse for the wider issue of why non-public school students have failed to meet their ambitions.
This week Darfur 10 - a campaign led by a coalition of NGO's including Waging Peace - petitioned the British government to help stop the violence. It is a clear reminder that although we should remember the hundreds of thousands who have already lost their lives, the international community must be reminded of those still suffering the consequences of this decade long conflict.
For the Prime Minister to insist that "we would require the agreement of our coalition partners" could be seen as placing politics above principle - an advertisement for self-imposed weakness. The opportunity for David Cameron is visibly to put the country before the coalition. The Prime Minister should offer them an ultimatum.
In sticking to steadfast opposition Miliband won't necessarily look strong and defiant, to many he will look weak and scared. There is a substantial demand for a referendum, and has been for some time.
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